Monkey Magic Sage is back in town! He’s visiting me in Oaxaca for almost 3 weeks and I am beyond happy to be with him again. Due to various frustrating logistical and geopolitical challenges, it’s been several months (ie way too long) since we were last together.
How did he get so big since I last saw him? Well, according to Sage he drank a potion called Big Boy Emergen-D (I guess it’s kind of a cross between Emergen-C, vitamin D, and a witch’s brew)
Still, I’m making the most of it. He’s only been here for a few days and it already feels like we’ve done a tonne of stuff together, and we’re forging some beautiful new memories together.
Big Boy Sage, Little Boy Huesos, and two very nice Jones Spaceframes…
On the agenda:
- Build RC cars
- Play with RC cars
- Repair RC cars (this seems inevitable)
- Ride bikes (to get around town, and for pleasure!)
- Get up into the mountains and camp out
- Eat mango paletas
- Eat memelas and tacos (Sage LOVES tacos)
The ride to Huayapam for tejate and memelas, via the BMX track for some RC car jumps!
Sage and Huesos sharing a moment.
On Saturday, we rode out to San Andres Huayapam, pausing to crack out the RC cars at the BMX track that’s en route. We had a fantastic lunch at Luz de Luna, taking the opportunity to charge the cars back up to full power, then we made ourselves a mini race course in a dirt road clearing on the way home.
Jones SWB Spaceframe. The dropper is the shortest post I have when run in its lowest position. We nudged forward the saddle and dialed in the hydraulic brake levers a touch for Sage’s small hands.
Sage hasn’t had a chance to ride his bicycle for the last few months, which made our day ride to Huayapam all the more impressive – the terrain here is tough! Despite my gentle reminders that pushing the bike is fine too (and that I do it all the time), he was determined to ride ever last bit of rutted road, conquering some really tricky, rocky climbs in the process. I’m proud of him!
Sage’s 10th birthday present was this sweet Traxxis Slash 1/16 scale. It outguns my 1:18 scale Losi JRX-2, but it’s super fun racing each other nonetheless. Huesos chased the cars around for a bit, then chilled out in the shade.
Today, we rode dirt roads towards Libramento, ascending towards what we now call ‘the helicopter pad’ – a dirt and gravel expanse high above the city, which I’d previously scoped out as having some sweet jump potential. Cue more RC fun, this time with the big 1:10 scale Traxxis Rustlers, followed by a blistering ride back down to the hill again and lunch at Obispo, a fantastic barbacoa joint. And we finished off the day with a stroll into town for our favourite mango paletas (Huesos chewed on the sticks).
The travelling troupe! We must have made quite the sight. Two odd-looking bikes. A dog in a trailer. And a monster RC car strapped to the front rack. We used my Old Man Mountain Divide, and a pair of Austere cam straps for a super secure fit. I’m riding a Jones LWB HD/e Complete and Sage is on a Jones SWB Spaceframe.
We found a bazilian tadpoles!
Sage is aboard a borrowed Jones SWB, lucky boy. The Spaceframe design offers lots of top tube clearance and the geo of the bike has a short reach, so it works really well for a wide variety of riders.
First a meander through town (thankfully, Sundays are quiet), then a solid 1000ft of climbing. Good work Sage!
Yep, that’s 2 x Traxxis Rustlers. I bought Sage one a while back for a Christmas and birthday present, then I couldn’t resist getting one for myself...
Ouch. (no harm done)
Back from when we came, this time with a detour to see Brown Dog, Huesos’ best bud.
We finished off the ride with some delicious tacos at Obispo, an excellent barbacoaria in town.
And finally, to wrap up the weekend: eating mango paletas on Huesos’ favourite perch for watching the world go by and hoping he might spot a friend to play with.
